[Chapter 1 – Verse 6]Living in Reality
"Why isn't he waking up?!"
A man was shouting, clutching his innocent head with both hands.
Anyone who knew him normally would've doubted it was the same person, given his disheveled state.
Because he was…
"Mr. Yoo Il-am, this is a hospital. Please keep it down. Even the bathroom isn't an exception."
The "genius shaman" Yoo Il-am, renowned for exorcising ghosts!
"…I'm sorry. I got carried away because I feel for the students Song Sun-young and Kang Moon-soo, possessed by a powerful spirit."
Yoo Il-am, a popular figure on public broadcasts, was in agony.
Song Sun-young.
Kang Moon-soo.
He was blamed for the coma of these two high school students who showed no signs of waking.
'I'm going crazy!'
The scene of his scuffle with Kang Moon-soo was caught live on air.
If that was all, he could've brushed it off with excuses, but as days passed without them waking, the situation spiraled out of control.
The atmosphere even made it seem like Song Sun-young, who was already unconscious when he arrived at the scene, was his fault too…
It was maddening.
"I understand your frustration, but please be mindful in the future. You're startling other patients."
"Yes."
He agreed readily to the doctor's request, but this was the third time Yoo Il-am had caused a scene yelling in the hospital.
Because he was losing it!
The stress was so intense that he could barely stay sane without shouting.
"If you keep this up, even as Kang Moon-soo's only guardian, we'll have to ban you from the premises."
"…I'll be careful."
What infuriated him more was Kang Moon-soo's family situation.
No parents! No relatives!
Even the homeroom teacher, the closest thing to a guardian, couldn't stay long due to personal matters…
So Yoo Il-am was stuck in the stifling hospital, reluctantly playing the role of guardian.
'Of all times…!'
The accident happened during a live broadcast, leaving no room for excuses.
Kang Moon-soo's hospital bills were a problem, but his plummeting reputation and popularity made him even more anxious.
"I fully understand your frustration, Mr. Yoo Il-am. We're doing our best to identify the cause."
"…Thank you."
'Hah! Understand me? You're all happily earning money! Incompetent fools!'
The doctor and experts said there was nothing physically wrong with Kang Moon-soo after thorough tests.
But the reality was he showed no signs of waking, like a vegetable!
The only small comfort?
Song Sun-young, found collapsed on the school rooftop, showed the same symptoms. Otherwise, he couldn't have blamed it on "ghosts."
'I need a lawyer…'
If Kang Moon-soo never woke up, there were signs he'd be charged with assault.
A light push caused this?
Even now, thinking about it made him boil with frustration!
"I have to check on other patients, so I'll go now."
"Okay."
Yoo Il-am didn't care whether the doctor left or not.
'Damn it! I came because the aptitude is shaman, and it's turned out to be a disaster!'
"Oh my! Doctor! Doctor! The patient's awake!"
"What?! Really?!"
"Yes! Kang Moon-soo, who was in a coma, woke up after ten days!"
"Oh! What a miracle…!"
"…"
The excited voices of the doctor and nurse echoed even into the bathroom.
Yoo Il-am didn't have time to scold them for being loud.
'He woke up?'
Life sparked back into his eyes, which had been half-given up.
"Oh, shoot! No time for this!"
He wanted to rush and see with his own eyes, but Yoo Il-am grabbed his smartphone first.
Beep, beep-
(Mr. Yoo Il-am, what's—)
"Get a camera and come to the hospital as fast as you can! Announce a live broadcast!"
His apprentice, calling him by name instead of "Master" to keep distance, showing familiarity and respect.
It was infuriating, but Yoo Il-am didn't care. Their relationship was mutually exploitative from the start.
(Huh? But the mood isn't right for a broadcast…)
"He woke up!"
(Is that true?!)
"Yes! Why else would I call? Get here now!"
(Yes, Master!)
Click.
After the short call, Yoo Il-am fixed his disheveled hair in the bathroom mirror.
"If I play this right…"
A wicked smirk curled his lips as he quickly formed a plan.
***
"Uh… what's today's date?"
My voice barely came out, my throat and tongue dry as a desert.
"It's January 3rd. A bit late, but Happy New Year, Mr. Kang Moon-soo."
The nurse brought warm porridge and told me the date.
"January 3rd…"
Time had flown by. The time I so desperately wanted to move forward was finally moving.
No more repeating the same day and situation!
That much was good, but…
'Was it all a dream…?'
Thud-
It felt like I'd been hit hard on the head with a blunt object, my mind reeling.
The time I spent with Song Sun-young, all those memories—not some supernatural phenomenon but a dream!
It didn't make sense logically or scientifically. I should've suspected it.
'No.'
Early on, I did suspect it was a dream.
But trapped in a dream I couldn't wake from, I had no choice but to believe it was reality. I'd always had doubts.
Could this still be a dream?
No.
It just wasn't.
This was reality!
No evidence, just my gut, but I had a vague certainty that the "me" lying in this hospital was in reality.
"Eat slowly."
"Thank you. But what about the hospital bill…"
More important than the porridge tempting my appetite!
I couldn't eat comfortably without knowing.
"Don't worry. Your hospital bill is—"
Bang!
The door swung open, and two men burst in.
"Hahaha! Dear viewers, are you watching? After a long struggle, finally! The genius shaman Yoo Il-am has exorcised the ghost…!"
One was a shaman.
"This ghost was so strong, I thought we were in trouble… but as expected of Master! It's a miracle!"
The other, his apprentice, shouldering a camera.
The rude intrusion of a man I never wanted to see again made my face twist.
But,
"Mr. Yoo Il-am is covering your hospital bill."
"…Oh! Mr. Yoo Il-am! So great to see you again!"
At the nurse's words, a professional smile spread across my face.
***
Thanks to my father, I knew that long hospital stays cost a fortune.
Eating, excreting, sleeping…
Even just breathing in a hospital room feels like money draining away.
"I rushed here as soon as I heard Kang Moon-soo woke up. I swear there was no prior arrangement. Doctor?"
"Yes, as you said, Mr. Kang Moon-soo just woke up. He needs rest, so broadcasting—"
"Thank you for your cooperation!"
Yoo Il-am, taking only the answer he needed, brushed the doctor aside.
Swish~
Unfurling a fan with a yin-yang symbol, he spoke to the camera in his signature cheerful tone.
"I enlisted Kang Moon-soo's help to save Song Sun-young, who was possessed by a powerful ghost."
"Huh? I didn't do anything…"
"Of course you don't know. I guided it that way."
"…"
Cutting me off as if to say "stay quiet," Yoo Il-am continued.
"To weaken the ghost possessing Song Sun-young, I transferred half of its power to Kang Moon-soo."
"I'm so disappointed we couldn't capture Master luring the ghost to Kang Moon-soo on camera!"
The apprentice with the camera chimed in with a regretful tone.
"It's fine, my apprentice. Saving a life comes first."
"But I'm upset! Thinking about how Master was criticized by viewers for being misunderstood…"
"Haha! That's how dangerous it was."
"But I always believed in you, Master. That you'd defeat the ghost."
"Of course! Who am I?"
"The best shaman in the country—no, the world, Yoo Il-am!"
"Your flattery's gotten better, apprentice."
"It's just the truth, what can I do?"
"Well, well…"
Master and apprentice carried on a seamless conversation.
Their broadcast flowed so smoothly, it was impossible to tell what was bravado and what was real.
So I was confused too.
'Is he telling the truth?'
Did Yoo Il-am do something to me that made me fall into a dream?
I decided to probe a bit.
"I had a long dream."
"Oh! Kang Moon-soo, can you briefly describe that dream?"
"…Yes. It was a dream of endlessly repeating the same time."
I briefly explained, leaving out Song Sun-young's story. I didn't want to share our memories with an unknown audience.
"Truly impressive! You exceeded my expectations!"
"Thank you."
"No empty words! You were rough around the edges when we first met, but in such a short time, you've grown into a remarkable shaman!"
"…"
I couldn't agree with Yoo Il-am's last statement, painting my face with praise.
Did I do anything in the dream?
No.
Until the very last moment, persuading Song Sun-young not to kill herself, I was just fumbling blindly.
"Mr. Yoo Il-am."
"Call me Master from now on. No need to hold back."
"That's…"
I was ready to cooperate because of the massive hospital bill, but this was too much.
Did he sense my reluctance?
Yoo Il-am added,
"Student Kang Moon-soo."
"Yes."
"You may not realize it yet, but you have boundless potential as a shaman."
"Really?"
"P's aptitude test has never been wrong, not once. If that's not enough, I stake my name on it."
"…"
I could feel his burning desire to take me as his apprentice.
"I won't charge tuition to train an excellent successor."
"…"
"And if you help with my work, like this time, I'll ensure you're generously compensated."
Flinch.
The word "compensation" made me waver for a moment.
"Not a bad offer, right? You'd be doing work that suits your aptitude, Kang Moon-soo."
"…You could see it that way."
Work that suits my aptitude.
Shaman.
Exorcising ghosts.
P's infallible aptitude test told me I had the talent to be a shaman.
"Still need time to think?"
Swish.
Yoo Il-am extended his right hand, as if offering a handshake.
In response,
"I'm sorry."
I couldn't escape like before, weak as I was, but I firmly conveyed my refusal.
"…May I know why?"
"Because I don't want to experience that kind of dream again."
It felt futile.
The fact that all my memories with Song Sun-young were a lie.
Even if we were like a man and woman stranded on a deserted island, forced to like each other, my feelings back then were real.
"Oh! If that's the issue, don't worry. I won't make you do it again."
"You say that, but do you know exactly what kind of dream it was? Have you experienced it yourself?"
"Of course."
"Then how did people look in the dream?"
"…"
"What, don't you know?"
"…"
For the first time, Yoo Il-am, who had been speaking fluently, clamped his mouth shut.
***
Step, step.
I walked slowly along the hospital's garden path, doubling as rehab to loosen my stiff muscles.
'This is bad.'
I can barely walk without a cane, and I'm supposed to be discharged tomorrow?
But there's no choice. This is the price of rejecting Yoo Il-am's offer to cover my hospital bill.
In other words, my karma.
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
"…"
"…"
On my way back to my room after the walk, I ran into her.